


Ran.

by Shugarplumps



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Siegbert is stuck in the middle of it, The 'I Hate My Dad' Squad Runs Away
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 06:19:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13496534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shugarplumps/pseuds/Shugarplumps
Summary: Deeprealms Boarding School was filled with students of all sorts. Attentive, joyous, happy. As well as the rebellious and the angry. The last person Siegbert expects to fit into the second category is his roommate, Shiro, who seems like the most overzealous person this school has ever seen. Though, he's proven wrong - oh so wrong - the day he wakes up and finds himself dragged into an investigation of four runaway students.Among them is Shiro.





	Ran.

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to?? Something. It's something. 
> 
> Hi, I love the Fates' Children and this isn't probably the last you'll see of me writing for them.

Shiro often liked to exaggerate. 

This was something that Siegbert had soon come to learn about his roommate. It wasn't a bad thing, more so simply an observation.

...

_"God, I'm starving!" Shiro exclaimed, shoving open the doors of the fast food place. It started to close behind him, and instead of grabbing it to hold it open for the next person, Ignatius grabbed the handle himself and propped it open for everyone else himself. The entire soccer team was here, even though they were a slightly smaller team. They were powerful, filled with people who were dedicated, or in the case of Ignatius, just too strong for his own good._

_As Siegbert walked into the establishment himself, adjusting his jacket, Shiro turned to him with a bright grin. "Thanks again for coming to watch the game! How was it? Did you have fun?" He asked, and Siegbert stumbled back a step in surprise at the ambush of questions he was faced with._

_Looking down at his roommate, he reached a hand up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, yeah, no problem. It was interesting to see. It must be a lot of work."_

_"Hell yeah, it is! Now I could eat like an entire horse." He laughed, and Sophie pouted at him as she entered behind him._

_"The day you eat a horse tell me where so I can beat you up for killing a horse! Just to eat it!" She said, accusatory, and he rolled his eyes as he reached over to ruffle her hair for a moment before turning back to the empty restaurant._

_"Yeah, whatever! But... I could order literally everything on this menu," Shiro exclaimed, throwing his arms out towards the list of meals over the front counter. It was a low-quality fast food, but for a bunch of tired athletes in the coming night, it probably sounded like a good idea._

_"Shiro, uh... Please, d-don't order everything." Ignatius nervously interjected, and Shiro tried to wave off his anxiousness. Asugi walked up next to them, and loudly popped his gum to get their attention._

_"Whatever Shiro does or doesn't order, we better be doing the fry mountain."_  
_"Hell yeah, we're doing the fry mountain! It's gonna reach the roof! Just don't go stealing everything!"_  
_"I'm a man of sweets, idiot, savory isn't my style. Especially not too much of it."_

_The two of them went back and forth, while Siegbert and Ignatius exchanged a look of exhaustion. Both of their roommates were something to see, especially when they were together. Unfortunately, they still didn't manage to stop Shiro from ordering three different meals. As well as filling each of the drinks he got with a different soda. Everyone did indeed share their fries in a giant heap together._

_Asugi and Shiro went back and forth and back and forth. Ignatius said little to keep them from their antics, but Siegbert was happy for a slower paced conversation with him. Soleil was still attempting to flirt with the cashier and ended up getting all of them kicked out before the end of the night. The kind of reputation the soccer team really was known for. And..._

_Shiro had still been eating cold fries the next day, too._

...

Shiro wasn't exactly what he had been expecting when he enrolled into the prodigious boarding school, but then again, neither were most of his classmates.

From the Dungeons and Dragons group that met up in the dorm common room every week to the kids who often tried to find more and more clever ways of tricking the teachers, none of them were what Siegbert had thought he would be joining for the school years ahead. Between the academic classes, the various extracurriculars, and simply going around with his day, he'd run into types of all sorts. Father never told him he'd meet girls who spoke in sing-songy and tired haiku. Whose attitude came not from the lack of it, but instead too much from. Mother never spoke of the beautiful music from picnic tables outside of the cafeteria. Looking outside to see a boy singing to the sun and the sky like he was born to do it. He'd watched a girl weep over a ninety-five on a test and another proudly show off her seventy-five. The entire school was a minefield of surprises, and he's stumbled into it and all of the traps set up there.

Shiro, an avid and impressive sports player, along with a loud and boisterous friend, was just one of the many that came with DR Academy.

In their time living together in the small room in the dorms, it hadn't taken long to catch on to his habits.

...

_"I'm gonna die..." The way Shiro said it was childish, to say the least. Laying his head down on the table they were sat around, his notebook was mostly void of any notes. Much of what was written down was vague and mostly useless, and across the table, Asugi snickered around his lollipop. Leaning forward, he smirked at the other while pulling the sucker from out of his mouth with a soft pop of his lips._

_"Am I invited to the funeral?" Asugi asked, and Shiro, from where he had his head pressed against the table, moved a hand to flip him off. Asugi just laughed more, sitting back once more as Shiro finally looped up again._

_"Hey! You don't even have more than I do!" He protested, sitting up suddenly and pointing at Asugi's notes. He just shrugged, holding onto the stick of his lollipop._

_"I'm not being a huge baby about it, though. Isn't that why you just begged Peanut Butter Blondie to help us study?" He asked, gesturing to Siegbert with his bright orange sucker. Siegbert finally looked up from his work at being mentioned, before having just been listening to the two bicker as he worked. Something he learned to do since the two of them bickered quite often. Shiro looked at Siegbert, laying his head back down on the table._

_"I invited him here to help_ me _study, actually, not you. Screw off!" Shiro bit back, and Asugi rolled his eyes at him. As Shiro started to groan into the table, Siegbert laughed quietly to himself, looking back down as he continued to write out his own notes._

_Asugi leaned over the table to gently pat Shiro's head with one hand, the other still holding his sucker as he rubbed his palm into his completely messy hair. "Now now, Shiro, just let out all of your frustrations. " He said in an overexaggerated motherly tone. After a moment, Shiro's light groans got a little louder as he hit the table with a light thud._

_"Shit!"_

_Asugi, already laughing, raised his lollipop into the air like a toast._  
_"Shit!"_

_It just so happened that Siegbert, who was only half paying attention to the situation at hand anyway, happened to recognize a spelling mistake he made. Turning around his pencil to erase it, his own swear lined up perfectly behind the rest._  
_"Shoot."_

_Realizing their accidental rhythmic match up, Siegbert looked up to see Asugi and Shiro looking at him. Shiro looking up from the table and unable to hold back a snort of laughter._

_"What, Sieggy, you don't swear?" He asked, "They say that people who don't swear as teenagers will swear ten times more as adults. They also die earlier." Asugi nodded, sticking his sucker back into his mouth and shoving it into one cheek to speak somewhat clearly, crossing his arms over his chest._

_"It's true. They're also said to be stuck-up." Asugi added, and Shiro raised a hand to point a finger gun at him in agreement. Siegbert looked between the two for a moment, his brow crinkling on his forehead. For a second he was more... stunned, perhaps, for words. Finally, he shook his head, nervously laughing._

_"My father simply taught me not to cuss is all," Siegbert explained, sitting up to properly converse with the two of them instead of hunched over his papers. "It's more polite and respectful than anything else." Shiro scoffed, sitting up himself, ready to snap back. However, Siegbert simply smiled at him knowingly as he continued before he could. "Also, Shiro, I'm sure you're just saying all of this to avoid getting back to studying."_

_For a second, Shiro did and said nothing, stopped in his tracks. After a second, he took his hand and mimed a gun with it. Fake cocking it with his other hand, placing it to his temple, and falling face first onto the table unceremoniously with a fake shot. Siegbert sighed, smiling, and Asugi gestured to Shiro again._

_"You've gone and done it now, Blondie. Shiro's fucking dead!"_

...

Shiro, as Siegbert had learned, was a night showerer. He'd always come back from classes, or from practice, or from wherever he'd just been out, and go and shower. It worked out with their schedules since Siegbert showered in the morning.

His phone background was a sweet picture of Shiro at his cousin's band concert. The kid apparently played the trumpet, and while it wasn't grand, it was a fun concert to attend. It was a more formal private middle school too, and the two were both dressed up. Shiro's tie was visibly undone, and the other's bowtie was crooked. They stood at the entrance of his school, crowded together into the frame of the camera. Their wide smiles were refreshing. Or maybe the small one that Shiro had while talking about it was.

Shiro kept all of his dirty clothes in a small pile at the end of his bed. Every once in a while Siegbert would remind him that he needed to wash those, and he would begrudgingly pick them all up in a huge heap of clothing in his arms and waddle down to the laundry room, grumbling swears under his breath.

It was kind of a funny sight.

He also had a routine every night. No matter the day, no matter the situation, he'd try to fulfill it. Even if it happened by accident, it was something he kept up now. Shiro would lay down and tiredly smile over at him with his big, tired grin. 'Night, Siegbert' he'd always say, and Siegbert would smile back gently. 'Goodnight, Shiro' he would reply, and then they'd go to bed. It was an odd constant for someone as bombastic as Shiro to have with him. The few times he referred to him by full name would be wishing him well during their sleep.

...

_"He's literally the fucking devil."_

_"Whatever Coach Gunter did this time, I'm sure it's entirely justified." Siegbert finished the line he was reading before flicking his eyes off of the book he was ready and over towards Shiro as he entered. He fell down onto his bed, and Siegbert watches him let his phone fall out of his hand and hit the floor, undignified. The thing was scratched up beyond belief as it was already, but Shiro wasn't trying to help stop them from growing. He didn't even have a case. Though, of course, he wasn't thinking about his phone as he curled up on his bed._

_"Not Coach! He's a hardass because he wants us to get better, I get that. Couldn't hurt him to smile every once in a blue moon, but I get it." Shiro admitted, and he's looking at him from across the room. Siegbert sees him glance his way, and then down at his knees that are curled up close to him. He picks at it, scratches it, and Siegbert isn't sure what to say for a moment. Eventually, Shiro continues, breaking their unsure silence._

_"He called me 'cause of my grades." Siegbert set his book to the side, listening. Shiro's tone was bitter, something that was never good to hear from someone like him. "He saying - I got this bad grade on a test - and he said," Shiro's voice went low as if he was imitating someone. " 'This is not acceptable. You have to get your grades up, no messing around! No son of mine is going to have such low grades. I won't stand for it and blah blah blah blah BLAH!' "_

_His dad. They never talked about their parents, really. This school was filled with people who didn't talk about their parents. It was filled with children, and it felt like it was run by children entirely. Parents weren't around, so talking about them was odd too. Shiro, especially, never talked about his dad. Sometimes he'd mention his cousin, his uncle, his mom, but never, not ever, his dad. Siegbert considered his words carefully._

_"...What test was it?" He asked, seeing Shiro look back at him._

_"English."_

_Siegbert stood up from his bed. Digging through his bag for a moment, he pulled out his books and set them on the floor between their beds. Shiro looked confused as he began to spread out the papers, flipping open the book and tossing a pencil across the floor. It rolled towards Shiro's bed and abandoned phone. Siegbert smiled up at him._

_"We can study together, then!"_

_The night was filled with Shiro hardly understanding English, and by the end of the night, Siegbert was proud to say he understood it a little better. They were exhausted, refilling drinks with tap water from their bathroom and eating the snacks Shiro kept under his bed. Notes were sloppily taken, English words managed to spill from each of their mouths. Well done or poorly, they still did it. When he could start to properly answer grammar questions, Shiro almost shouted to the high heavens and woke their classmates up in his celebrations._

_In fact, the next week, he ran into their room holding his test retake with an '80' scribbled on the top. The biggest smile in the world on his face._  
...

Shiro's real name was Shinonome. No one really called him that, though. He introduced himself as Shiro, he called himself Shiro, he wrote the name on his papers, his stuff, his nametag on the door - Shiro. They all read Shiro.

The last time he'd heard anyone refer to Shiro as 'Shinonome' was Asugi. The two were having a fight at the time - over what? Who knows. - and Asugi had used it as an insult. Slung it like a stone, as if words would physically bruise him. The worst part was he seemed to be right, as Shiro suddenly got much, much angrier than he had been. In retaliation, Shiro called Asugi 'Saizo', a name he'd only heard as his dad's name but the way Asugi's hands balled up showed it wasn't just that. The two were at one another's throats in seconds.

Shiro? Upset over a name? It didn't sound likely to him, but there it was happening before him. The two of them eventually cooled down. They were back to being friends the next day without a problem, but Siegbert thought that the conclusion of that fight was both appropriate and the strangest thing.

"Shiro." Asugi had huffed, but Shiro wasn't even looking at him as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Asugi."

And little more was said. They always say there's more to a name, but Siegbert simply may not have understood.

...

_"I think," Shiro began suddenly, breaking the silence that had settled across the room like a blanket, "I'm going to run away from this place."_

_Siegbert, who had been busy writing notes on Chemistry, suddenly stilled his pen. Looking back behind him at the rest of the room, he saw Shiro there. Laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. His phone was set to the side in the messy sheets, and instead, he was just staring off at nothing. Looking at him for a moment, Siegbert eventually spoke up in return._  
_"Why's that?" He asked, watching Shiro arch his head back to look at him._

_"I'm sick of this place." He finally answered, annoyance in his voice. Throwing his hands up in exasperation towards the ceiling, he let them fall back to his sides. After a moment, the other boy turned himself over, laying on his stomach to better look at Siegbert. Resting his chin on his pillow, he sunk slightly into the cushion but his eyes still were locked with Siegbert's. "It's not like anyone would really mind if I left, I think. Would you mind?"_

_"Shiro, you and I both know you can't just leave." He sighed, turning around fully in his chair instead of just looking over his shoulder at him. Shiro's hair was in dry, messy curls, his headband discarded in the heap of his dirty clothes he kept at the end of the bed. There was a bit of silence, both of them waiting for the other to say something._

_"Maybe I can. After all, you know this place's reputation." Shiro grumbled at last, and Siegbert sighed, knowing exactly what he was talking about._

_"We've talked about this, haven't we?"_

_"You know what this place really is..." His voice became more muffled as he pushed his face into his pillow. Siegbert pulled his reading glasses off of his face, setting them on his desk._

_"Shiro, is this about your dad? What did -"_

_"Deeprealms Academy!" Shiro interrupted him, his voice rising suddenly as he tore his face away from the pillow he'd gone and buried it into. Pushing himself up on the mattress, he sat_ up on _his knees, locking eyes with him again. As if gaining a second wind, he clutched his sheets into balls of fabric caught in harsh fists. "Where you send your kids when you don't care about them anymore! Where you throw them when you want them out of your life for a while! Meet back up with them once they're mature, and you didn't have to do any of the parenting!"_

_"This school is one of the best in this area." Siegbert reminded him after a moment of thought, "The separation from your family is to help prepare kids for their independent lives past graduation and to help with attitude... It's for your education - it's for all of our education! For... our lives, really."_

_"Maybe it is for yours!" Shiro spat back after a moment, and he opened his mouth to continue. Though nothing came out as the sound died in his throat, and he simply looked back at his bed. Staring down at it for a moment, he eventually laid back down with a thud and threw the blanket over his head._

_"I'm going to bed."_

_Looking at the lump covered by a dark red blanket for a moment, Siegbert had a bad taste in his mouth. Turning back to his work, he carefully picked up his pencil and tried to remember where he'd been. Right as he began to write again, a quiet voice came from behind him._

_"...'Night, Siegbert."_

_That brought a small smile back to his face. Slipping his glasses back over his eyes, he felt relief as the phantom tenseness in his shoulders began to fade. Everything would be alright._

_"...goodnight, Shiro."_

...

For the past week or so, Siegbert had the room to himself more or less. It was good for studying, having the entire room quiet as he managed to spend all of his afterschool time getting all of his assignments finished. It was only once he had actually started to run out of assignments to do did he wonder why. Though, each day he'd been given a reason.

"Oh, there's a game coming up! Me and the rest of the guys are gonna get some extra practice in." Shiro had smiled, throwing his bag over his shoulder and heading out one day.

"Asugi and I are gonna try this gummy candy maker he bought on Amazon. It's going to be awesome!" Shiro had laughed before Siegbert could hear his loud footsteps running down the hall.

"Detention." Shiro had smirked, before blowing a light blue bubble, watching it pop and start to stick to his cheek as he walked out of the door.

"Nina is dragging me to some shitty play."  
"Dwyer wants me to test taste some of his coffee. Did you know he brews his own?! That's fucking cool!"  
"I need to exercise this coffee off I have way too much extra energy even from yesterday - also don't drink Dwyer's experiment coffee."

Day after day, he had a reason to step out, leaving him on his own night after night. Not that Siegbert minded too much, exactly, but he wondered when Shiro's schedule got so busy all of a sudden. After finishing an English paper, he yawned, glancing at Shiro's empty bed. Stepping over to his own bed, he laid down on the dark sheets and let his eyes drift closed. By the time the morning came and the alarm on his phone went off, Siegbert pulled himself out of his bed and looked across the room.

Shiro's bed was still empty. Sheets in a hasty pile, as they always were. Looking around, he expected to see him somewhere, or soon hear the water start to run. However, the door to the bathroom was cracked open, and it was dark inside. There wasn't a trace of him, not that Siegbert could see. Standing up, he glanced around, before wondering if he'd gotten locked out last night. No way! He'd have called him and knocked and shouted or even kicked the door right now. Walking over, he pulled it open and looked around. The hallway was completely dim and empty.

Where...? Just as the thoughts kept swirling through his head, a small piece of paper at his foot caught his attention instead. Bending down, he picked it up from the floor and flipped it over to read it. The sloppy, messy words were distinctly Shiro's, and the signature at the end confirmed that. 

Shiro was a man of exaggeration, of hyperbole. Everything he said was big and dramatic, that much was easy to tell with the big movements that accompanied it. He wasn't the type to take his own words seriously all the time, even. Shiro was a man of exaggeration, Siegbert knew that well, and maybe that's why his own flippant attitude about his claims was biting him back as he read the sloppy note in his hands.

'Sieggy! I'm running away. Don't worry about it. Good luck on that test - I'm sure you'll ace it anyway!

\- Shiro'

Crouching in the doorway to his room, Siegbert stared at the note for a few quiet, empty moments. In the serene morning light, in the quietness of asleep students, it was void of sound. Once it did hit the barrier of silence, he hardly realized the words were his own until they finally hit his ears.

"Oh _shit_."


End file.
